In my experience, Linux desktop response suffers way more heavily under high disk load then Windows desktop response. Something with the way Gnome and KDE are prioritized in the kernel loop I would expect. Run something in the background that is chewing up the disk and expect windows to draw very slowly.

Try a lightweight desktop. Mageia5 using the LXQT desktop zips along on my 12-yo hardware.

An anonymous reader writes: A study based on test results from 300,000 internet users "found significant degradations on the networks of the five largest internet service providers" in the United States. This group includes Time Warner Cable, Verizon, and AT&T. "The study, supported by the technologists at Open Technology Institute’s M-Lab, examines the comparative speeds of Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), which shoulder some of the data load for popular websites.... The study, supported by the technologists at Open Technology Institute’s M-Lab, examines the comparative speeds of Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), which shoulder some of the data load for popular websites." These findings arrive shortly after the FCC's new net neutrality rules took effect across the U.S.Link to Original Source

Providing a lunch for students regardless of need is fine (notwithstanding the biometric tracking issues), but is the food still crap? Last I heard, schools were offering really non-nutritious fast food type lunches because it was cheaper than hiring cooks and servers to provide regular meals.